Screw conveyors are used in compaction systems to displace bulky waste material along a path from one location to another. Such screw conveyors typically include a screw that can have a large pitch at the beginning of the path and a small pitch at the end of the path.
One example of known screw conveyors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,268 (HAMILTON). HAMILTON teaches the use of a tapered passageway at the end of the path to further compact waste material. However, waste material elements that have irregular dimensions may jam at the entrance of the tapered passageway and cause problems in the flow of material along the path. This problem is generally encountered in the industry when screw conveyors similar in design to the one of HAMILTON are used.
EP 2319685 describes a compaction system that can be used on vehicles for transporting waste material. Such vehicles typically include a loading hopper to receive the waste material. The material is then transferred to a container through an aperture. Once again, materials of irregular dimensions may get blocked in the aperture.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for a screw conveyor system which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the aforementioned prior art problems.